Howlers
by i.paint.the.sky
Summary: Over the years, Sirius sent an assortment of Howlers to Remus. but not the typically type of Howler.  Written for the Lupin FQF.  Warning: Slash.  ONE-SHOT


TITLE: Howlers  
  
AUTHOR: The Cleric 007  
  
PAIRING: SB/RL  
  
RATING: R (for some sexual content, of course)  
  
FEEDBACK: thecleric007@hotmail.com  
  
DISCLAIMER: Much to my disappointment, I do not own Remus Lupin. I wished really hard one night that I did, but it didn't work. He is the property of JK Rowlings, as are the other characters from the Harry Potter world. And, to add salt to the wounds, I am not making any money from this story, unlike the Great Rowlings, who has enough money to last a couple lifetimes, I'm sure.  
  
SUMMARY: Over the years, Remus has received a number of interesting Howlers from his friend/lover Sirius Black. From the MWPP era to OotP  
  
NOTES: Part of the Remus Lupin Fuh-Q Festival "Howling at the Moon". Response to scenario # 24: Howlers can be used for more than just reprimands, as Remus' lover is more than happy to show him.  
  
OOTP SPOILERS: Yes, yes, yes. Do not read this is you have not read Order of the Phoenix (though by now, everyone should have read this very good book, though not as good as PoA)  
  
ARCHIVING: The Remus Lupin Fuh-Q Festival and FanFiction.Net. If anyone else wants it, all they have to do is ask.  
  
DEDICATION: To my oh so wonderful beta, Lacey!!!  
  
"HOW DARE YOU DISHONOUR THE HOUSE OF BLACK LIKE THIS, YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE."  
  
Remus Lupin laughed as Sirius Black rolled his eyes, ignoring the bright red howler that his mother had just sent. Every week it seemed a new one was owled in, and every week the Marauders got a good laugh at Mrs. Black's expense.  
  
"You know," Remus said when the screaming letter paused for breath, "I've never been sent a howler."  
  
His friends looked at him with dismay. "What do you mean, never been sent a howler?" James Potter asked.  
  
"I mean exactly what I said, Prongs. I've never been sent a howler before. I don't suppose my parents could have been bothered."  
  
"Plus," added Sirius with a mischievous gleam in his eye, "Moony here isn't really the type to misbehave, thus meriting a howler."  
  
The boys all laughed in agreement at this, but Remus cast a wary eye on Sirius. Padfoot typically had a gleam or two in his eyes, but what he had seen mere moments before had been different. Sirius was planning something, Remus knew it.  
  
And he would know. He knew Sirius better than any of the others, better than any of the others would ever suspect. For the last two years, Remus and Sirius had been having a secret affair. It had been such a relief after those first five years of oddness, an end to moments that left both of them scared, insecure and uncomfortable. And though Remus would rather have let the world know he was in love, he respected the Sirius wasn't ready. Coming out was hard, as Remus knew well.  
  
The relationship had had its ups and downs. Most notable of course was last year's prank that almost cost the Marauders their place at school, as well as almost costing Severus Snape his life. That betrayal had been hard to move past, taking the better part of sixth-year. But when it came down to it, Remus loved Sirius, and was able to forgive.  
  
And now, as they entered their seventh and final year, Remus and Sirius' relationship was stronger than ever. They were on the verge of entering the next level, and as in love as ever.  
  
Even so, Remus recognized the glint in his lover's eyes, and didn't know whether to feel excited, or afraid.  
  
*~*~*  
  
He was sitting alone beside the lake - a favourite place for quiet studying - when a large great horned owl flew above. Or, as Sirius liked to joke, a horny owl. In its talons, the owl was carrying a blue envelope. Which it promptly dropped in Remus' lap, before flying off.  
  
Cautiously, not knowing what to expect, he opened the envelope and out sprang the voice, and mouth, of Sirius Black.  
  
"Well, hello love," said the envelope, now revealed to be a blue howler, "I thought you might like to share in the thrilling and oh so fun wizard tradition of receiving howlers. And, since this is your first, I wanted to make it something you'd always remember."  
  
The howler suddenly planted itself on Remus' lips, and began French kissing him. After the initial shock had worn off, he relaxed, and allowed himself to passionately kiss the envelope, until the howler pulled away and burst into blue flames.  
  
Remus sat there, stunned. That had been a howler unlike anything he had seen before, or anything he would have ever expected.  
  
Suddenly laughter erupted from behind him, and Sirius' head appeared. "Well Moony, did you enjoy that? Because it sure looked like it from here."  
  
Remus had to laugh along with his lover, and agree that he had indeed enjoyed it, very much. "Where did you find that Padfoot?"  
  
"Ah, that is my little secret. Don't worry about where they come from, or when they come. Just prepare yourself for a flood of blue howlers coming your way."  
  
*~*~*  
  
Graduation Day. The culmination of seven years of learning, when the Hogwart's students were sent out into the world to discover what lay in their futures. Or so Remus had been told, along with every other cliché that was applicable to this most important of days. But for him, it was the last day that he and his friends would spend together. Of course they would see each other after graduation, but it would never be the same as when the Marauders ruled the Gryffindor dormitory. Needless to say, he was not feeling as happy or hopeful as most.  
  
James and Lily were too wrapped up in each other to notice Remus' mood, and Peter had never been known for his powers of observation. Even Sirius seemed wrapped up in the day's drama, as he spent the majority of his time hiding from his numerous relations, who had come to celebrate Narcissa's graduation, as well as her engagement to Lucius Malfoy.  
  
So Remus found himself alone amid a sea of people whom he didn't know, and who didn't know him. So it was only natural that he soon found himself truly isolated, standing in his study spot, waves of nostalgia washing over him.  
  
A shadow passed over him, and suddenly a blue object fell from the sky. With visions of Chicken Little crying "The sky is falling!" Remus bent over, and picked up the mysterious article. It was a blue howler. He smiled, and with a shake of his head opened the envelope.  
  
"Don't think I don't notice you Moony, standing there alone," came Sirius' voice, its rich sound filled with concern. "You think you can hide, but I see you, where ever you are." Suddenly Sirius laughed. "That sounded a bit like a stalker, didn't it? Here I am trying to be all serious, and I come off as creepy. Anyways, the point I was trying to make was that when you're unhappy, I'm unhappy. So, it is my god-given responsibility to make you happy again, because as we all know, I'm really grumpy when I'm upset."  
  
Remus' laugh surprised him. Despite the whirlwind of today he was actually happy, at least a little bit. His laughter quickly turned to a gasp of surprise, as the howler swiftly moved under his graduation robe, and somehow managed to wrap its "mouth" around his cock. A shudder went through his body as he went rock hard and the envelope began sucking hard, wrapped tight around his sex.  
  
He moved behind a tree, hidden from view of those at the ceremony. Trying his best to muffle his cries of pleasure, his body arching back against the trunk. He spent himself in the envelope, just moments before it fell to the ground in flames.  
  
He collapsed to the ground, tired but happy. Not merely because he'd just received a blow-job from a howler, but because he knew no matter what happened, Sirius and James and even Peter would be there from him. It wouldn't be the same, but that didn't mean it would be worse. Just different.  
  
*~*~*  
  
A few years later, Remus sat looking out the window of his modest apartment, waiting for Sirius to come home. He knew in many ways he had become a housewife, but he truly didn't care. He was happy to wait for Sirius, because it was worth it. They were finally living in the open, their relationship bared for the world to see, and living together had surpassed all of his deepest hopes. It was an especially necessary comfort in this dark time, with the Potters hiding in fear for their life, with Sirius as their Secret Keeper.  
  
He could see a dark shape moving in his direction. It was too small to be Sirius on his motorcycle, besides even Padfoot wasn't foolhardy enough to use that beast this close to muggles. It moved closer and closer, until the silhouette was unmistakably that of an owl.  
  
Remus opened the window, letting the bird in. After giving it a nice treat of ham, the owl dropped its delivery, and flew off. Remus looked down at the blue paper that lay before him. There wasn't just one howler there, but three. Intrigued, he opened them all at once.  
  
"Hello lover," they said in unison, in Sirius' voice of course. "I really wish I could be there with you right now, but I've been delayed. But I think these triplets should be enough to keep you occupied. Just go, get beautifully naked, lie down and enjoy. I'll be back as soon as I can."  
  
Eager to see what Sirius had planned, Remus quickly did as he was told. As soon as he was on the bed, the howlers went to work. One placed itself on his lips, kissing him passionately. Another covered his chest with kisses, paying particular attention to his sensitive nipples. And the last firmly attached itself to his cock, using all the skill Sirius had instilled in it to bring him to ecstasy and beyond.  
  
The pure pleasure was interrupted by a knock on the door. Remus tried to ignore it, but the pounding was insistent. And it was accompanied by a voice he hadn't heard since he left Hogwarts. Dumbledore was at his door.  
  
Hastily throwing on a robe, Remus hurried to answer the door. There was his former headmaster, and in his arms was an infant he knew well. Harry Potter.  
  
"Dumbledore? What's going on? Why do you have Harry?"  
  
"Remus, I think you should sit down. I have a lot to tell you."  
  
He listened to all Dumbledore had to say, but in his heart he had known it the moment he saw Harry, and the lightning-bolt scar the child now bore on his forehead. James and Lily were dead. What he hadn't known, and would never have expected, was the suggestion that Sirius was to blame. The accusation the Padfoot had betrayed his dearest friends, to their death.  
  
The next day, Sirius was arrested. But not before being tracked down by Peter, an act of such bravery that surprised everyone, Remus included. Even worse was what happened next, the hex unleashed that not only annihilated Wormtail, but many muggles around him.  
  
Remus fell into a state of complete shock, beyond anything he'd ever felt before, even concerning the prank on Snape. Sirius had betrayed them all. Two of the best friends he'd ever had were dead, and his dearest friend, his lover, was to blame. For weeks he couldn't leave his house. For months he was barely able to function as a member of society. For years he bore the scars of this betrayal.  
  
*~*~*  
  
For years, the stream of blue howlers was dammed. Remus tried to put his life back together, sometimes succeeding, other times not. Things finally seemed to be working when he was offered a job at Hogwarts, as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. And then Sirius escaped, and the pain of his betrayal grew sharp again.  
  
And then Remus' world was shaken again. Peter wasn't dead, and Sirius wasn't guilty. In the Shrieking Shack, a place he had always hated going, he was reunited with both Wormtail and his beloved Padfoot, and found out the horrifying truth. And he began berating himself over and over again for ever believing Sirius capable of the betrayal.  
  
The reunion with his lover was sweet, but oh so short. The very same night Sirius was forced to flee. Remus sadly knew he had to take some responsibility for this event, for had he taken the wolfsbane potion, Peter would not have escaped. Guilt over this mixed with guilt over his mistrust of Sirius, as well as the pain of being forced from Hogwarts by Severus Snape, and Remus' first ever red howlers, sent by enraged parents.  
  
And then the blue howlers returned, first bearing words of forgiveness. Sirius did not blame Remus for the mistrust, for he himself had once suspected Moony of being the spy. Nor did Padfoot blame his lover for his current status as a fugitive. Then the howlers bore Remus kisses, and then more.  
  
With the establishment of the Order of the Phoenix, and their new headquarters at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, the howlers were no longer necessary. Once again, Remus and Sirius lived under the same roof, ate at the same table, slept in the same bed.  
  
Then, just as things were getting back to how they had been so long ago, everything fell apart again, more permanently then ever before. Watching Sirius' body fall into the veil was the worst moment of his life, every other horrendous event of his life paling in comparison. The emotional side of him totally shut down. The logical side was able to make his body go through the motions, making sure Harry and his friends got out of the Ministry safely. He somehow got himself back to headquarters, back to Sirius' ancestral home. And there he allowed himself to collapse in a sobbing heap, right in front of the screaming portrait of Sirius' mother.  
  
How long he lay there, Remus would never know. By eventually he managed to crawl into the living room, curling up in a ball before the hearth. He was still there when an owl flew in, bearing a black envelope. Remus sat up, and opened Sirius' last howler.  
  
"Moony, dear beloved Moony, if you're hearing this, it means that I'm dead. And I know that this will be a difficult time for you. I won't try to make it better, because I know I can't. I just need to tell you how much I love you. I have loved you for the greater part of my life. No matter what happened, this love was a constant, and it helped me get through the most trying times of my life. And I know that you love me just the same, and this knowledge is the dearest think in the world to me. And I know I'm going to miss you. I wish I could stay longer and just lie in your arms, but I can't. But neither can you sit around at home, feeling sorry for me and for yourself. You are the last of the Marauders, Moony. More importantly you are Harry's last link to his parents. And I know you will make sure that he knows everything he needs to, the good and the bad. I trust that you can help him through this time, and by doing so help yourself. And this knowledge is as great a comfort as the knowledge of your love. You have so much to offer the world Moony, and I know you'll do great things. So, farewell my love. Make me proud. And always remember I love you as much as you love me."  
  
The envelope folded itself up, and instead of burning up as Remus expected, it settled itself in his lap, warmth emanating from it. Holding it firmly in his hands, Remus stood up, and headed off to bed. He needed to rest, and gather up his strength if he was going to do all Sirius had asked, and more. He would go and live his life to the fullest, keeping Sirius' memory close to his heart, and making Padfoot, as well as all the others whose lives had been lost, proud. 


End file.
